I own nothing but my OC's and this story, all else goes to Lloyd Alexander and Disney unless otherwise noted.
Chapter 12
The Horned King sat in the large, stone, throne-like chair in his private chambers, staring at the floor, deep in scheming thought. His thoughts were as dark as his expression, and the timid, tell-tale tapping of Creeper at his door did not raise his moral at all. He hadn't sent for the goblin! He glowered darkly at him as Creeper tiptoed fearfully into the room and stood, awaiting his master's permission to speak. An irritated arch of the brow was his go-ahead.
Creeper gulped. "S-S-Si-Sire," He whimpered, wringing his hands, "Th-there's a h-hu-human here."
The pause that followed was thick enough to cut with a knife.
The Horned King never showed emotion. Under any circumstances. Completely calm, composed and icy at all times, even when his plans didn't work out, he always kept himself tightly in check. Being undead helped with that. Creeper could count on one hand the total amount of times when his master had ever shown any feeling well enough for anyone to notice unless they really looked. All of those outbursts in the past had been brought on by the Pig-Keeper.
And this was number four.
The shock on his Master's face would have been laughable if Creeper had been in the position to do so, but he was too frightened to get any enjoyment out of his master's surprise.
"What?"
The Horned King hissed, enough shock and anger mixed together in that single syllable to fell an army. His claws dug into the chair's stone arms as he stared at his servant.
Creeper flinched, putting his hands over his face. "A human, S-Sire. D-d-downstairs, by the fire. . ."
The Horned King rose from his seat, his eyes boring into his slave's face, searching for signs of a lie. The goblin had never been dishonest with him in the past. . .Fear of his master had always compelled him to tell the truth. . .but since his return he didn't put as much stock in his minions as he had before. Even previous to his demise his expectations had been rather low.
The goblin cowered in terror as his Master got up, but was saved by a tap on the door.
The Horned King growled softly as a presence briskly entered the room, the door swinging open.
"Sire, it seems the storm outside has blown a human in downstairs, and she needs a place to spend the night."
The Horned King stared at the place the voice was coming from, although he couldn't see the Invisible. A soft snarl was his answer.
"See that it does not leave alive."
The Invisible seemed prepared for this order, as it answered a bit too quickly for the Horned King's liking.
"As you know, Your Highness, we cannot harm anything while in your servitude, nor can we help you harm anyone. That was the rule. However, we cannot stop you if you wish to deal with the human yourself."
The Horned King gave the wall a death glare where he knew the Invisible to be and fancied he heard a soft chuckle. These servants were of little use, and the only reason he could think of that they were here was more punishment from the Fates. They were the most irritating thorns in his side, especially since he couldn't harm them and they had absolutely no fear of him, making it all the more frustrating. Their arrogance reminded him of that blasted Pig-Keeper, their sarcasm only worsened it, and annoying him seemed to be the highlight of their days.
He gave a soft snarl and exited his chambers, hearing the goblin scamper out as the Invisible shut the door behind them.
The Horned King traveled down the steps at a slightly faster pace than his usually slow and deliberate stride. Taking out all his frustrations on the unfortunate soul downstairs would be an enjoyable experience. He hadn't killed anything since his return, and simply choking Creeper wasn't quite enough to ease the fury bubbling almost constantly inside him. He bared his fangs softly at the thought of something new to take his rage out on, something to drain the life from. . .the pupils in his eyes were tiny pinpricks of red in anticipation.
The goblin's relief had known no bounds when the Invisible had walked in the door, taking his Master's attention away from him. He thought his legs would collapse in relief as he trotted down the stairs after his Master. He would look forward to seeing something else suffer instead of himself. Finally! It had been too long as it was. He grinned to himself as he descended. It seemed he had, for once, came out on the upper hand of it all.
The Horned King made sure he did not let his boots tap against the stone hard enough to make noticeable noise as he carefully pushed the door open that led to the balcony overlooking the fireplace where the human stood. He knew that the Invisibles would not help him capture the human, and Creeper would be no help at all. He was doing this alone. He could hardly contain his excitement, but patience was a virtue, after all.
'Patience, patience,' he thought to himself as he looked over the balcony at the figure standing by the fireplace. 'Don't want to make any noise and scare it off.'
He studied the figure, but as far away as he was it was difficult to make out anything.
'No matter,' he thought. 'I can look all I want when I'm choking the life out of her.'
The Horned King paused in his inner monologue. 'Her?'
He narrowed his eyes. Yes, it was indeed a female. He recalled that the Invisible had called the intruder a 'she' when explaining the situation. He hadn't bothered to take notice until now. As far as he was concerned all humans were the same. . .pathetic, weak, expendable, easily manipulated, mortal. . .the list went on.
Staying in the shadows on the balcony, he walked around to the staircase to silently descend on his unsuspecting victim and stopped dead in surprise at the scene that met him.
All manner of silverware and what had used to be the finest of china dishes lay in random piles and pieces all the way down the staircase. Not one step was empty of the mess. The Horned King's face twisted into a silent snarl of confusion and disbelief. His eyes went on down the stairs to see the rug piled up on the side near the staircase in a lump, and there by the hearth lay the reason for it all. The dented, twisted remains of a large serving trolley lay on its side on the floor, the firelight shining off the metal, and the Horned King fancied there might be an indention in the mortared wall as well.
He stared at it, completely motionless, thinking.
His Invisible servants were annoying beyond measure, but they prided themselves in their work more than anything. The ability to be impeccable at their duties. Meals were always served exactly on time, the torches were always lit and snuffed accordingly, and everything they did they made sure it was nothing short of perfection.
This was not their doing.
Then the pieces fit. He had known that pathetic goblin hadn't told him everything! Silently seething, he turned and quietly walked back through the door he'd came, beckoning at the goblin to follow him. Shivering in dread, the pathetic creature obeyed.
The instant the Invisible closed the massive, thick door behind them the Horned King's hand was around the goblin's throat before he could start babbling excuses and had brought his slave to a little below eye level to him.
In a hiss so soft it could hardly be heard, the Horned King snarled,
"WHAT did you DO?"
The goblin gagged and tried to breathe. "N-nothing, Sire!" he cried in panic. "I was going to scare it off to please you and-Ack!"
The Horned King gripped him tighter in a rage. "Without my Permission?"
The goblin choked and fought for air, "I'm sorry, Master! Ock!"
"Did the human see you?" His master demanded.
"Ack! No, Sire!" The goblin was nearly sobbing in pain by this point.
Reluctantly, the Horned King dropped the goblin. He snarled at the creature to get out of his sight. His slave did so quickly, running back into the depths of the castle. If the human had not seen the goblin he could still sneak up on her without the slightest problem. He had done it so many times before. . .As he turned to head back out again a voice stopped him.
"Begging Your Highness's greatest pardon," The Invisible spoke a bit sarcastically, "But I will remind you that you have seventeen moons remaining in this grace period you've been granted, and that is not long. You know the requirements and the stipulation the Fates require of you."
The Horned King snarled in fury. "Silence, Slave."
He bit out that last word as much as possible to make sure the Invisible knew what he thought of it, "I will not be the Fates' plaything for them to watch so haughtily. Their terms were impossible. I know it, you know it, and they know it. I may be forced to return to the Cauldron, but I will not do so begging for mercy! The Fates can find their twisted pleasure somewhere else. I may have failed at ultimate power, I may have failed with the Cauldron, my undead army and the rest, but when they send me back to. . .him. . ."
The Horned King shuddered as a wave of terror and remembrance washed over him, "I will be consoled in the knowledge that I was not fooled into failing again, for something like lo. . .something so useless."
He refused to say that word out loud.
"If nothing else, I will still have my pride."
This was the first verbal outburst the Horned King had uttered since his death, and he nearly regretted saying it, in front of the servants that had been assigned to him by the Fates themselves. It was not their place to know what was going on inside his head! But he had spilled, and he couldn't retract those words now. He couldn't even kill the servant so his outburst would remain secret.
The brief pause that followed was leaden, and he inwardly cursed himself for snapping like that. Where was his composure that only the most infuriating of circumstances could chip? It was one of the most dangerous weaknesses one could have, letting their guard down and their feelings out like that, out in the open where they could be crushed, mauled and betrayed. Granted, this was an extremely infuriating moment, but still no excuse.
The Invisible answered quietly, and for once there was no arrogance or sarcasm in the voice that came seemingly out of nowhere.
"If you never try, then you'll never know, Your Highness. You may have failed at everything you sought in the past, but this is literally a new beginning, your soul being handed to you on a silver platter, and if you throw it away for nothing but pride because you were afraid of failing again then you are nothing but a coward."
The Invisible's voice hardened as the Horned King snarled softly in anger.
"You were sent back for a reason, Horned King. You have been given a chance no other soul in the Cauldron has EVER been granted, a chance to redeem yourself. If you refuse to humble yourself and take that chance it will not be the Fates fault. They have given you control of your own fate for a time, and if you are too filled with hatred to do anything to try and change it then you have doomed your own soul to the everlasting Hell that awaits you inside the Black Cauldron."
The Horned King hissed in rage at his servant and whipped out the door back toward the balcony, but he still caught the parting words of the Invisible.
"You will have doomed yourself."